Whodunnit, Scooby Doo?
by honeyjadecladdagh
Summary: When Daphne ends up in hospital and Fred is held responsible for putting her there, it's up to Velma, Shaggy and Scooby to prove his innocence and find the real culprit? But will they succeed without the rest of the gang there to help them. And will they solve the mystery in time for Christmas?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1 - The attack**

The people of Crystal Cove were all aflutter. Winter had arrived and Christmas wasn't far behind. People had already gotten well into the spirit of the season as it was impossible to go anywhere without seeing at least one holiday-themed decoration. Houses and lawns were strewn with candy canes, snowmen, reindeer and Nativity scenes. The streetlights were each adorned with wreathes and trees were hung with blue and gold lights. It all made for a very magical sight.

Nobody was more excited than the Mystery Inc. gang. Christmas had always been the highlight of the year for them, no matter what thrilling events had occurred in the previous months. The moment December rolled around, Christmas preparations got into full swing. Decorations were hung up, the tree was assembled, wish-lists were written, many shopping trips were made and presents were wrapped. One evening, after a particularly long, tiring day of gift hunting, Fred and Daphne decided to have a night out together, just the two of them. The couple decided to go to one of the gang's favourite haunts: the malt shop. Although the place was only a few blocks away from the gang's apartment, they decided to go in the Mystery Machine; there was no way they were walking to the malt shop on a freezing winter night. They sat at their usual spot by the window and contented themselves with sipping jumbo pink lemonades, chatting by the minute.

Daphne sighed deeply as she sat back in her chair and gazed out the window. It had been snowing for several hours and the empty streets were covered in a blanket of white, contrasting with the dark sky above. Snowflakes drifted down from the heavens, swirling in the bitter wind and heaping onto the bare branches of the trees lining the streets that creaked under their weight. The sight was very beautiful and picturesque.

"I sure am glad we're not out there right now" Fred said, giving her a small fright.

The redhead nodded in agreement. "You and me both. It must be at least a few thousand degrees below zero out there." She drained his glass then pushed it aside and smiled across the table at her boyfriend. "So, what surprise did you get me today?"

Fred grinned. While shopping at the mall for presents, he had found a gift which he knew would be perfect for Daphne but had refused to tell her what it was. "Still not gonna tell you, Daphne. I want it to be a surprise."

"Aww, c'mon. Can't you just give me a little hint? Please? Just one?"

Fred shook her head, still grinning widely. "Nope. You'll have to wait until the big day."

Daphne rolled her eyes. "Oh, alright." Just then, Daphne's phone buzzed with an incoming call from her mother. "I'll just take this outside" she said, grabbing her coat.

"Don't be too long out there" Fred called after her as she disappeared out the door.

"Hey, Mum" Daphne said, putting the phone to her ear as she zipped up her coat. "I'm fine, thanks. What about you and Dad?...That's good. Anyway, what's up?...Dinner? On Sunday? Yeah, sure. I'd love to come. What time?...Ok. What about Fred? Can he...?"

The sound of a bin falling over caused Daphne to jump. She turned around and looked to where the noise had come from, hoping to see what had caused it, but no sign of life was visible. Daphne hoped it was just a fox. She was about to return to her conversation when a small movement caught her eye. It might have been her imagination, but Daphne could have sworn she had seen a shadow moving towards the narrow alley, just a few metres away from where she stood.

"Daphne? Are you still there?" Mrs Blake's concerned voice inquired from her end of the line.

"I'll call you back" Daphne replied before ending the call and pocketing her phone.

Trembling, the redhead slowly inched her way towards the dark alley, her feet crunching softly in the crisp white snow. Something about that alley had always given her the creeps, though she could never work out what. Maybe it was the tall, formidable buildings that bordered it. Maybe it was the fear of not knowing what lurked in the shadows of that place, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce. Or maybe, just maybe, it had something to do with the fact that a young girl had once been murdered there while walking home alone one night.

Daphne had now reached the edge of alley and was freaking out more than ever. Fumbling in her pocket, she pulled out her phone, turned the screen brightness up to the highest level possible and pointed the screen towards the alley. It was completely deserted.

"H-Hello?" she called out in a quivering voice. "Is...Is anyone there?"

No answer.

 _Must've imagined it,_ she thought as she switched off her phone and turned to walk back to the shop, only to find her path blocked by a dark figure. She gasped in surprise and was about to scream when the figure clamped an ice-cold hand over her mouth and dragged her into the alley.

Back in the malt shop, Fred was growing increasingly concerned. Daphne had been gone for nearly ten minutes. _Where is she?_ He wondered. Finally, he decided to go and search for her. Standing up, he pulled on his jacket and walked outside into the freezing night.

"Daphne?" he called out, hoping for a response that never came. "Daphne, are you out here?"

The patter of running feet echoing from the alley drew his attention. "Daphne, is that you?" he asked, chasing after the noise.

"DAPH-" Fred's urgent cry was cut short when he skidded into the alley and was met with a sight that made him want to tear his eyes out. Daphne was lying on the ground, unconscious and covered in multiple scars. A thin line of blood trickled down her face from a cut on her forehead.

"Oh god, no, Daphne!" Fred cried, falling to his knees. "Daphne, are you ok? Can you hear me? C'mon Daphne, please, say something! Anything! Daphne, wake up! Please, WAKE UP!"


	2. The attack

**Chapter 2 - At the hospital**

Fred paced the length of the lobby for the twentieth time, panicking like there was no tomorrow. His eyes were red from crying. He tried hard not to blink because every time he did, his vision was filled with the horrible image of Daphne lying weak and vulnerable in that alleyway.

One of the restaurant staff had heard his screams and had rushed out to see what was wrong. After composing his senses a bit, Fred had spent a few seconds searching in his pockets for his phone, only to remember he'd left it at home. Luckily, the waiter was kind enough to lend his phone, which Fred used to call for an ambulance. Fred had begged the EMTs to let him go in the ambulance with Daphne but his pleas were met only with refusal. They did, however, allow him to follow behind in the Mystery Machine. He had sent Velma and Shaggy a text, telling them what had happened and to meet him at the hospital. Now he could only wait.

"We're here, Freddie!" A familiar voice interrupted his train of thought.

Fred looked up to see Velma, Shaggy and Scooby rushing towards him. "We got your text" Velma told him. "We came over here as fast as we could."

"Ris Daphne rokay?" Scooby asked.

Fred shook his head despairingly. "I don't know, Scoob. They won't let me in to see her. I just hope she's ok."

"She will be, Fred. I know she will" Velma assured him.

"Yeah, man" Shaggy agreed. "Like, how did she end up in hospital anyway? I mean, what happened to her?"

"Someone cornered her in the alley near the malt shop and beat her up." Fred gritted his teeth as he said those words. The very thought of someone harming his girlfriend infuriated him. "At least, that's what it looked like when I found her."

"Who would do such a thing?" Velma wondered out loud.

"Most likely some sicko with nothing better to do" Fred muttered. "I swear to god, if I ever find the person who did it, I'll make sure they never walk again!"

"Mystery Incorporated?"

The gang jumped at the voice that hadn't come from any of them. They turned around in the direction the voice had come from and gaped at the person who stood before them. "Hot Dog Water?!" they cried in unison.

Their former high school peer and short-term gang member was the same as ever, only taller and the geeky outfit consisting of a brown woollen jacket, red skirt and striped socks had been replaced by a white lab coat over a dark blue shirt and matching trousers. Her hair hadn't changed though, still remaining the same brown, oily mop and she still wore the red-rimmed glasses with the yellow lenses.

"Nice to see you guys again" the young woman said. "And it's Doctor Fleach now. Or, if you prefer, you can call me Marcie."

"What are you doing here?" Velma demanded. The question wasn't one of her brightest; she knew very well what Marcie was doing in the hospital. It was just such a surprise to see her after they had barely talked to each other in years.

Marcie rolled her eyes. "Isn't it obvious, V? I work here. Anyway, my colleagues and I have done a thorough examination of Daphne and I have good news and bad news regarding her condition. Which do you want to hear first?"

"The bad news" said Fred. "Get it over with."

Adjusting her glasses, Marcie cleared her throat and gave the clipboard she was holding a swift glance. "The bad news is that she's comatose."

Shaggy tilted his head to the side inquisitively. "Comatose?"

"Romatose?" Scooby repeated.

"It means she's in a coma" Velma said matter-of-factly. "The clue is in the word."

"What about the good news?" Fred asked, unable to imagine how anything about the situation could possibly be good.

"The good news is that there's no internal bleeding or any broken bones. Plus, I can't guarantee anything but there's been no serious or permanent damage done to her head, so there is a high chance that she'll wake up."

"How high?" Fred inquired.

Marcie rolled her head around thoughtfully. "Very high" she finally said. "Eighty-five per cent, at least."

A wave of relief washed over Fred but a heavy sense of dread quickly replaced it as he realised there was still a possibility of Daphne remaining comatose. "So, she might not wake up?"

Sensing she would have to tread carefully here, Marcie answered slowly. "It's not impossible but, like I said, I can't guarantee anything."

Fred knew that this was doctor's speak for "no, she might not." The realisation hit him like a sack of bricks and he suddenly felt faint. He quickly found a chair and sat down before he collapsed from shock. Velma and Shaggy stood beside him, offering words of comfort while exchanging nervous glances over his head and Scooby gently patted Fred's knee with his paw.

"Can...can we...see her?" Velma asked.

Marcie nodded. "Of course. Follow me."


	3. Along came the sheriff

**Chapter 3 - Along came the sheriff**

The moment the gang entered Daphne's room, they wanted to turn around and walk straight out. Daphne lay on the narrow bed in the middle of the room in a white hospital-issued gown, completely motionless. Her skin was startlingly pale, almost as white as snow, and her face was blue, black and purple from the countless bruises that covered it, as were her arms that lay stiffly by her sides. It was so rare for the gang to see Daphne like this, it was almost like they were looking at a complete stranger rather than a lifelong friend.

Overwhelmed by the sight of the love of his life looking so battered, Fred staggered backwards as if he were about to collapse. Luckily, Velma and Shaggy were right beside him and steadied him. They all found chairs and gathered around Daphne's bed while Scooby sat on the floor beside Shaggy. Fred lightly wrapped his fingers around Daphne's hand, taking care not to apply too much pressure for fear of breaking her.

"D-Daphne?" Fred's voice was uncharacteristically anxious and quivering. Some small part of him had hoped he would be able to get a response out of her by speaking her name, but no such luck.

"We're right here, Daphne" Velma said, her voice unusually calm. "All of us. Me, Fred, Shaggy and Scooby Doo. And we'll stay here by your side until you wake up."

"Like, if she wakes up" said Shaggy. Velma nudged him sharply in the arm and glared at him. "Ow!" he yelped, rubbing his elbow where a bruise was already starting to form. "Like, what was that for?"

Velma subtly nodded towards Fred while giving Shaggy a look that said _What are you, stupid?_ Getting the message, Shaggy immediately became sheepish. "Oh, uh, right. Sorry, Fred." But Fred gave no answer, just continued to stare at Daphne with a mournful expression etched onto his face.

Nobody spoke, or even made a sound, for a while after that. (What exactly do you say to a person who you know is unable to give an answer, let alone acknowledge your presence?) They simply sat in their seats, twiddling their thumbs, either looking at each other or down at the floor, forming a kind of tableau.

"Uh, Mystery Inc?" A voice from the doorway asked awkwardly. They all looked up to see Marcie standing there. "Sorry if I've interrupted anything, but Sheriff Bronson Stone is here to talk to you about the...incident."

Marcie turned to face the hall outside the door and motioned for the sheriff to enter, then she left. "Mystery Incorporated" the sheriff greeted the gang who simply nodded at him. They didn't tend to get along with Sheriff Bronson Stone, having been arrested by him numerous times for wrecking potential chances for tourism by unmasking the criminals behind many so-called "star attractions".

"I heard your friend, Miss Daphne Blake, got jumped in an alley and I'm here to investigate" the sheriff told them.

"'Bout time you started doing some real police work" Velma muttered. Her tone was borderline sardonic.

Ignoring her, Sheriff Stone cleared his throat and pulled a small notebook out of his pocket and consulted some of the notes inside. "My colleagues and I took the liberty of interviewing some of the people who were near the scene around the time of the attack" he explained. "We didn't get much information, just that young Mister Jones was the first to find Miss Blake after she was attack. Is that right?" he asked, looking at Fred.

Fred nodded, not taking his eyes off Daphne. "Yes" he answered simply.

The sheriff closed his notebook and put it away. "Well, you kid's will be pleased to know we already have some idea of who the attacker might be, thanks to an anonymous tip we recently received."

Fred's head shot up hopefully. "Really? Who?"

Sheriff Stone was silent for a moment, then he pointed and accusing finger at Fred. "You."

Fred's jaw dropped in shock. "ME? But...I was in the malt shop when it happened!" This was an outrage.

"And besides," Velma chipped in, "Fred would never dream of raising his hand to Daphne."

"That's what they all say" Sheriff Stone said. "But, since Fred was the first one to find Daphne, that does make him a suspect." He then walked over to Fred and hauled him up roughly by the arm. "Let's go, punk. You're coming to the station with me" he said, marching Fred out of the room.

"But...but..." Fred protested weakly.

Velma, Shaggy and Scooby raced out of the room after them. "Sheriff, wait!" they called but the sheriff and Fred were long out of sight by the time they reached the hallway.

"Like, wow. Those guys are fast" Shaggy commented.

"Reah, really rast" Scooby agreed.

"Come on, guys. We have to get to the police station. Right now" Velma said.

"But, like, what's the hurry, Velm?" Shaggy asked. "We only just got here. And, like, what about Daphne?"

"She'll be fine" Velma replied. "There are plenty of people here to look after her. But if we don't get to the station quickly, they'll lock Fred up."

They raced back down to the lobby where they almost crashed into Marcie. "Guys, what's wrong?" she asked. "Is something wrong with Daphne? And where is the sheriff going with Fred?"

"No time to explain. Can you keep an eye on Daphne for us while we're gone? If she wakes up, you can call me." Velma tore a corner off a newspaper lying on a nearby table, quickly scrawled something on it and handed it to Marcie. "Here's my number."

"Uh...o-kay" Marcie said, taking the paper with a confused frown. "But...why are you leaving so soon? You've only just arrived."

"Like, that's what I told her" Shaggy murmured, before racing out the front door with Velma and Scooby.

They all piled into the Mystery Machine with Velma in the driver's seat and Shaggy and Scooby in the back. Luckily for them, Fred had left the keys in the van and Velma revved up the engine. "Hang on" she instructed, clutching the steering wheel firmly. Shaggy and Scooby had barely fastened their seatbelts when the Mystery Machine zoomed out of the hospital parking lot at breakneck speed and down the road.


	4. Guilty until proven innocent

**Chapter 4 - Guilty until proven innocent**

Fred sat in his chair at the small desk, gazing down at his manacled hands which rested on the table before him. Sheriff Bronson Stone sat across from him, leaning in uncomfortably close and eyeing him suspiciously, a notepad in one hand and a pen in the other. The room they were in had a very unwelcoming vibe. It was about the size of a large walk-in closet with the walls painted a dark grey. There were no windows and the only light came from a lamp resting on the desk.

"So," Sheriff Stone said, his booming voice echoing in the small space of the interrogation room. "You and Miss Blake were at the malt shop at the time of the incident?"

"Yes."

"And what malts were you drinking?"

"Jumbo pi..." Fred paused and looked up at the sheriff. "Wait a second, how is that important?"

Sheriff Stone glared at him. "I ask the questions here, not you! Now, what malts were you drinking?"

Fred sighed. "Jumbo pink lemonades."

"Seriously? Do you know how much sugar is in that stuff?" The sheriff paused and cleared his throat. "Uh, I mean, so then what happened once you'd finished drinking those totally unhealthy, diabetes-inducing malts?"

"Daphne stepped outside to take a phone call" Fred explained. "She was out there for a while and I was getting worried about her, so I went outside to search for her."

"And I'm assuming that's when you found her in the alley?"

Fred nodded. "Yes."

The sheriff wrote a few notes. "Well, in that case, i just have one question." He stood up and leaned so close to Fred, their foreheads were almost touching. "Do you honestly expect me to believe such a ridiculous story?"

Fred glared at him. He was beginning to lose his patience. "How many times do I have to tell you? I am not the one who attacked Daphne!"

The sheriff chuckled in a disbelieving manner. "A likely story. Listen, Jones. The longer you continue to deny it, the worse off you'll be when you're found guilty. So why don't you do yourself a favour and tell the truth?"

"He is telling the truth!" Velma cried, bursting in through the door, closely followed by Shaggy, Scooby and a police officer.

Sheriff Stone looked up at the four newcomers, surprised. "What are you all doing in here? This is supposed to be a private interrogation!"

"That's not important" Velma said.

"Yeah" Shaggy agreed. "Like, we got way more important stuff to worry about right now."

"Reah. Really rimportant."

"You've made a mistake, Sheriff" Velma said.

"Like, a really big mistake" Shaggy confirmed.

Sheriff Stone raised an eyebrow. "A mistake? Little lady, Sheriff Bronson Stone does not make mistakes."

"Please, Sheriff, just listen to reason" Velma pleaded.

"Yeah, man. Velma's very reasonable."

"Reah. Really reasonable."

Velma glared at the boy and the dog who stood behind her. "Do you two mind?"

"We're just givin' ya backup, Velm" Shaggy protested.

"I thought we had an agreement" Velma hissed. "I do the talking. You don't." Turning back towards the sheriff, she continued. "Consider this, Sheriff: the person who attacked Daphne was very unlikely to have cared about her wellbeing. If Fred had just cornered Daphne and beaten her to within an inch of her life, why would he then call for an ambulance?"

Fred nodded in agreement. "She's right, Sheriff. And I've already told you, I love Daphne with all my heart. I could never dream of hurting her like that."

Sheriff Stone rolled his eyes. "Ugh, spare me all the fake lovey-dovey crap. I've heard it before. And who are you kids to tell me I'm doing my job wrong? Last time I checked, I was the sheriff here, not you."

"We're implying nothing of the sort" Velma insisted. "What we're trying to say is that it might be more worthwhile considering actual evidence and facts instead of believing the words of some anonymous source feeding you false information."

"Like, who is this anonymous source anyway?" Shaggy demanded. "What else have they told you?"

"That information is classified" Sheriff Stone answered. "Now, before I arrest you kids for interfering with police time, I'm gonna give you a chance to leave. I'm warning you, don't waste it."

Velma opened her mouth to protest when Fred stopped her. "Guys, go. It's better for just one of us to be in jail than all of us. I'll be fine, I promise."

"You won't stay here Freddie" Velma promised. "We'll prove your innocence if it's the last thing we do!"

Two minutes later, the three of them were back outside in the freezing cold night, shivering inside the Mystery Machine. They had cranked the heating up to full blast but that still wasn't enough to ward off the chill of the night.

"Like, what do we do now?" Shaggy asked after a long silence.

"What we always do" Velma replied. "Solve the mystery and unmask the real villain."

"Row do re do rat?" Scooby inquired.

"Yeah, Velm. Like, it's gonna take some pretty good evidence to convince the sheriff that Fred isn't the one who attacked Daphne. And, like, we don't even have any leads on who the real attacker is. Where are we even gonna begin and how?"

"We'll think of something" Velma's tone was a combination of determined and uncertain. "We'll have to. Fred is our friend and with him in police custody and Daphne in a coma, it's up to us to solve this mystery."

Shaggy sighed. "Ok. Can we, like, at least get some food and sleep first? I'm all for helping out our friends but not on an empty stomach."

"Reah. Ri raven't reaten for a whole rour."

Velma couldn't help smiling. One of the few things she loved most about Shaggy and Scooby was that how, no matter what the circumstance, their stomachs were always their top priority. "Of course we can. There's bound to be a fast food restaurant open somewhere."

Three hours later, Velma, Shaggy and Scooby were curled up together in the back of the van, well-fed and enjoying their last few moments of peace before they began their investigation the following day.


	5. So it begins

**Chapter 5 -** **So it begins**

"So, like, where do we start, Velm?" Shaggy asked the next morning.

Velma sat up and stretched, wincing as her joints made several sickening cracks. They were all very stiff from having spent the entire night sleeping on the cold, hard floor in the back of the van instead of the nice warm beds they were used to. "Well, Daphne was attacked outside the malt shop," Velma said, "so it seems only logical that we begin our search there."

Shaggy and Scooby's ears pricked up. The malt shop? This was a first; usually, when the gang was investigating a crime, Fred was in charge and this meant searching the creepiest places imaginable. Shaggy nudged Scooby. "Like, Fred should get arrested more often. Huh, Scoob?"

The great Dane didn't take this as the sort-of-compliment Shaggy had meant it to be and shook his head disappointedly. "Rot cool, Raggy. Rot cool rat all."

"Come on. What are you waiting for?" Velma said from the front of the van. She had already strapped herself into the driver's seat and was drumming her fingers on the dashboard impatiently.

Shaggy climbed into the passenger seat and strapped himself in. A loud rumble from his stomach instantly reminded him that none of them had eaten yet. "Hey, Velma, like, shouldn't we get breakfast first before..." He didn't have time to finish his sentence as Velma jerked the steering wheel, sending them barrelling down the road.

Once the Mystery Machine came screeching to a halt outside the malt shop, Shaggy and Scooby cautiously felt their limbs to make sure nothing was broken after their fear-inducing drive and came up with a surprisingly positive result. They all hopped out of the van and walked into the shop. Given that it was only eight o'clock in the morning, the only people there were a handful of staff, all busy cleaning the place and putting the furniture in order. They looked very surprised to be getting customers this early. The trio approached the nearest employee, a tall, lanky fellow with freckles and a mop of russet hair named Jimmy who was sweeping the floor.

"Uh...can I help you?" he asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"We're friends of Daphne Blake" Velma explained. "The girl who was attacked outside this shop last night. We were hoping we might be able to talk to some of you about what happened."

Jimmy shook his head. "You won't get much help here. The only person who knows anything about the incident is Todd."

"Is he here?"

"'Fraid not. He doesn't start until one in the afternoon."

Disappointed, Velma replied "Ok, thanks. Come on, gu..." she paused when she realised neither Shaggy nor Scooby were by her side as they had been when they entered the shop. Velma pivoted around on her toes, wondering where they could have gone in such a short amount of time.

"Yeah, uh, we'll take two super-duper sandwiches and two large double fudge sundaes with a pickle on top."

Velma turned in the direction of Shaggy's voice and frowned when she saw him and Scooby sitting at the bar. "What do you think you're doing?" she demanded, marching over to them.

"Re raven't rad breakfast ret" Scooby said.

"Yeah, Velm" said Shaggy. "Like, you don't seriously expect us to work on an empty stomach, do ya?"

At first, Velma was a little annoyed that Shaggy and Scooby seemed to care more about eating than solving a mystery. But then she realised that there wasn't much else to do, so she thought _Ah, what the heck?_

"Waiter!" she called to the man behind the bar. "Make that three super-duper sandwiches. And throw in an extra sundae."

They dug into their food like a pack of ravenous wolves, to the slight bewilderment of the waiter and anyone else who was close enough to see. Once the last crumb was gone, Shaggy and Scooby leaned back in their chairs and simultaneously let out an appreciative burp, causing Velma to wrinkle her nose in disgust. Velma took this as an opportunity to inform them that their only known witness was unavailable and would be until one o'clock in the afternoon.

"Like, that's five hours from now" Shaggy pointed out. "So, like, what are we gonna do for five hours?"


	6. We're going on a clue hunt

**Chapter 6 - We're going on a clue hunt**

"Like, when I asked what you wanted to do, this wasn't what I had in mind."

The trio were standing at the end of the alleyway near the malt shop. Many people had come to nickname it "Murder Alley" and the place looked just as creepy during the day as it did at night. The buildings on either side of the alley cast eerie shadows over the path between them and their grimy, dark walls were covered in graffiti. Dumpsters lined the path with stray bits of litter gathering on the ground beneath them. Rats could be heard scampering and clawing about in the shadows.

Shaggy was shivering from head to foot as his eyes meandered from one eerie detail to the next. "Like, refresh my memory, Velm. Why did ya have to drag us out here into the cold when we could've stayed in the nice, warm malt shop?"

"Reah. Ris place rives me the creeps" Scooby said.

"I literally told you guys two minutes ago!" Velma practically shouted. "We're here to look for clues that might help us to determine who attacked Daphne and, therefore, prove Fred's innocence. Plus, there's not much else we can do until Todd shows up for work."

"I can think of, like, a million better ways to kill some time than this" Shaggy murmured to Scooby.

After a lot of convincing and Scooby Snack bribes from Velma (as well as threats of physical violence) Shaggy and Scooby finally followed her into the alley to begin their search for clues. "Search for anything that looks suspicious" Velma instructed. "A weapon, a torn piece of clothing, anything that could be used as evidence."

The trio instantly began searching for any possible spots that their suspect might hide the evidence of their crime, rifling through bags full of rubbish and nosing around the dumpsters. A great spluttering and gagging occurred. Shaggy nearly threw up when he lifted the lid of a bin to peer inside and was hit by the overpowering stench of rotten vegetables, fish bones, mouldy bread and countless other discarded foods that even a homeless person wouldn't dare touch. Shaggy yanked the collar of his shirt up over his mouth and nose and quickly replaced the lid. Why was there never a can of deodorant when you needed one?

"Hey, guys! Look at this!" Velma called. She standing near a lamp-post on the other side of the alley and appeared to be holding something. Shaggy and Scooby raced over to her.

"Like, what'd ya find, Velm?"

The girl was holding a black fedora and a torn piece of black leather. "I found the hat by this lamp-post. And this leather I found on the corner of a dumpster. They both look fairly new, which means they must both belong to the attacker."

"Like, that leather looks like it got torn off a coat" Shaggy said. "But, like, how is that gonna help our investigation?"

"Well, if we can find the store where hat and coat came from, we might be able to find out who bought them, thus narrowing down the list of suspects."

"Great but, like, how are we gonna find the store?"

Velma smiled. "There's only one place in Crystal Cove I know that sells hats like this: Cooke's."

Cooke's was a clothing store in the centre of the town run by the Cooke family and was owned by the eldest son, Evan Cooke. The store was popular among the wealthier families of Crystal Cove, due to the products wildly overpriced. It was very well-maintained, with both the inside and outside looking so clean, one would think the building was brand new. The outer walls of the store were pristine and cream-coloured, contrasting with the black double-doors that served as the entrance. A sign with the word COOKE'S hung above the doors, written in huge silver lettering. The inside of the store was like a palace, spacious and elegantly decorated, with glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling and black and white marble flooring covered with velvet rugs. The store held every item of clothing imaginable. Coats, hats, gloves, scarves, trousers, shirts, jumpers, skirts and shoes. And none-too cheap.

Upon entering the store, Shaggy nearly fainted over the price of a pair of white silk gloves that wouldn't have looked out of place on an Edwardian era outfit. " _SIXTY DOLLARS?!_ " he gasped. "For a pair of gloves?! I bet that's not even real silk!"

While Shaggy and Scooby were mulling over the fancy clothes and their ridiculous prices, Velma wandered off to search for a hat that was identical to the one she had found in the alley. The search was a short one. On a long rack displaying women's hats, Velma spotted a row of fedoras that were identical in every way to the one she was had. Further along the displays, she noticed a row of black trench coats that looked to be made of leather. Velma held up the torn piece of leather she had found and, sure enough, the material was the same.

"They're exquisite, aren't they?" A voice behind her made her jump. She turned around to see the one and only Evan Cooke standing behind her, beaming widely. He was a tall, beefy man with tanned skin and slicked black hair, streaked with grey. His large smile showed off a set of pearly white teeth. "Is there anything I can help you to find, ma'am? That coat of yours looks like it's seen better days. Perhaps you'd like to treat yourself to a nice new one?"

Velma shook her head. "Uh, no thanks" she said politely. "But I could use your help." She held up the hat for him to see. "Did anyone recently purchase a hat like this from here? Or one of those trench coats?"

Mr. Cooke thought the question over for a moment. "Well, truth be told, ma'am, they aren't my most popular item. Although, somebody did purchase a fedora exactly like that about a week ago, along with a leather trench coat, a pair of sunglasses and some gloves."

Velma's heart leapt. "Can you remember who it was? What did they look like?"

The man shook his head. "Not very well, I'm afraid. I get so many customers that it's hard to keep track. But I do remember this person being fairly short. Probably about the same height as you. They were also quite thin and had very greasy hair."

"Did you happen to get this person's name on the receipt?"

"I believe I did. Wait a moment." Mr. Cooke hurried off and came back a few seconds later carrying a slip of paper. "Here it is" he said, handing it to Velma.

The date on the receipt had the following items and prices listed:

 ** _Trench coat - $115_**

 ** _Fedora - $89.90_**

 ** _Sunglasses - $52.35_**

 ** _Gloves - $60_**

 ** _Total - $317.25_**

The customer's name was written below in elegant, swirly handwriting. Mercia F Leach. Velma frowned. Something about that name seemed familiar but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. "Do you think I could keep this?" she asked.

Mr. Cooke nodded. "Go ahead. I haven't much use for it. But would you mind if I asked why?"

Velma was about to answer when a high-pitched voice from the other side of the room caught her attention. "Hey, Scoob, look at me!" Velma turned in the direction the voice came from to see the most embarrassing sight she had ever seen (and probably ever would see). Shaggy and Scooby had draped themselves in ladies' clothes, hats and jewellery and were strolling around, talking to each other in exaggerated posh accents, making huge spectacles of themselves.

Velma's face turned six different shades of red. "I'm so sorry" she muttered to a very bewildered Mr. Cooke before rushing over to Shaggy and Scooby and yanking off their ridiculous outfits before marching them out the door. The boys exchanged sheepish looks. They were in very, VERY big trouble.


	7. Bloody murder

**Chapter 7 - Bloody murder**

 **Things get a little dark in this chapter.**

* * *

Surprisingly, Velma wasn't as mad at Shaggy and Scooby as they had feared she would be. Although their behaviour at the store was incredibly embarrassing, Velma had managed to get what they had come looking for before they were forced to make a swift exit and, with any luck, this small clue would push them a little bit closer to solving the mystery. "Besides," Velma said on the dive away from the store, "Those clothes are stupid anyway."

To say that Shaggy and Scoob were relieved by Velma's acceptance would be an understatement; Velma was not somebody you wanted to get on the wrong side of. They had learnt that the hard way on multiple occasions.

The Mystery Machine pulled up outside the malt shop and Velma climbed into the back with Shaggy and Scooby to pore over their evidence. "So, we've got the suspect's hat, a piece of their coat, a receipt for the items and, what is most likely, their name."

The group sat in a circle in the back of the van and placed the items in the centre. Shaggy picked up the receipt and frowned at it. "Mercia F Leach? What the hell kinda name is that? And, like, what does the F stand for?"

"Reah. What does rhat mean?" Scooby wondered out loud.

Velma shrugged. "Beats me. But look at the date. It's a week from today. And the hat and the material both look pretty new. Which means this Mercia F Leach could be the one who attacked Daphne."

Shaggy nodded thoughtfully, staring at the name. "Like, doesn't the name sound familiar to you?"

"That's what I thought" Velma replied. "I also thought that this so-called Mercia must be pretty rich to afford all those things. But the only rich people we know are Mayor Jones, who is long gone, and Daphne, who was the victim. So that rules them both out as suspects."

"Rand they're rot ralled Mercia" Scooby pointed out.

"I know that, Scooby. But maybe the suspect isn't really called Mercia F Leach either. Maybe it's a pseudonym. That's another word for a fake name" Velma explained when she saw Shaggy and Scooby's confused faces.

"We knew that" Shaggy insisted.

They spent the next hour in the van discussing their evidence and coming up with suggestions as to who the attacker could be. They then spent a further hour in a fruitless search of Murder Alley for any more clues. At around half past twelve, Shaggy and Scooby's stomachs began to rumble again and they decided to grab a bite to eat. Unbeknownst to them, a dark, sinister figure spied them as they made their way from the alley towards the malt shop.

A light lunch was ordered and paid for and, after a long wait, was delivered to them by one of the waiters. He was a tall, robust young man, roughly the same age as Fred, with a round face, brown tousled hair and eyes so pale they were almost grey. As he placed their food on the table, he eyed Velma and Shaggy suspiciously. "Say, are you the people Jimmy told me about?"

"Like, what do ya mean, man?" Shaggy asked through a mouthful of liverwurst sandwich a la mode.

"Jimmy told me that two people fitting your descriptions came into the malt shop this morning asking to speak to me. Was that you guys, by any chance?"

Velma suddenly realised who this man was. "Oh, you must be Todd!"

"Sure am" Todd replied.

"Like, Jimmy said you don't start until one o'clock" Shaggy told him.

"One of the other waiters called in sick, so I'm filling in for him. Anyway, what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Our friend, Daphne Blake, was attacked in the alley outside this shop last night" Velma said. "Jimmy said you might be able to help us."

Todd's face suddenly clouded over. "Well, I don't really know much about it." He became apprehensive and looked out the window nervously. "Look, I don't have much time to talk now. I'll tell you what. I go on my break in about two hours. If you guys are willing to wait around until then, can you meet me by the back door?"

Velma nodded. "Sure."

The next two hours seemed to drag and Shaggy, Velma and Scooby were all curious as to why Todd would ask them to meet him by the back door of the malt shop. Nevertheless, they complied and, at half past two, Todd quietly slipped out to join them. "Okay, what do you want to know?" he asked.

"We were wondering if you might have seen the attack happen or...something" Velma said.

To her disappointment, Todd told her that he hadn't. "Although, there is something that might be worth knowing. Earlier today, when I was on my way here, this guy stopped me in the street. He said that some people would likely pay me a visit and ask if I knew anything about last night's attack."

"Like, what did this man look like?" Shaggy asked.

"Well, he was quite tall, taller than me, and pretty big. He was wearing this trench coat made of leather, as well as a hat and some sunglasses."

Velma's heart leapt. "Did he tell you his name?"

Todd nodded. "Yes, strangely enough. He said his name was Mercia F Leach. Pretty weird name for a guy, if you ask me." He quickly glanced down the street as if checking to make sure the coast was clear. "Look, I really shouldn't be telling you this. You see, this man...well, he said I wasn't to tell you anything and that if I did, he would kill me."

A shiver ran down everyone's spine as he said this. The trio thanked Todd for his help, then left.

It was dark by the time Todd's shift finished. He grabbed his coat and keys, then signed himself out and walked outside to his car. As he was walking towards the parking lot, a tall, dark figure appeared out of nowhere and dragged him into the alley, pinning him against the wall. Todd gasped in horror when he recognised the trench coat and the sunglasses. "Please, let me go" he begged.

"You told them, didn't you?" the man hissed.

"No, no. I didn't, I swear!"

The man chuckled, humourlessly. "Don't lie to me. Didn't I tell you what would happen if you told them about our meeting?" As the man said this, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a shiny black gun.

Todd's blood turned to ice and he struggled to get away. "No! Please, let me go! Please don't kill me! I'll do anything! Anything!"

But his desperate pleas were for naught. In the eerie silence of the night, the sound of a gun firing echoed in the alley, frightening anyone and everyone within earshot. By the time witnesses appeared on the scene, the killer was long gone, leaving behind only the lifeless body of Todd, drowning in his own blood.


	8. It took you this long to figure it out?

**Chapter 8 - It took you this long to figure it out?**

 _"Twenty-one year old Todd Davis was found dead last night outside the malt shop where he had been working as a waiter for the past three years. Witnesses claim they had seen him leaving the shop and heard, what sounded like, a gunshot in the nearby alley less than a moment later. Todd was found lying dead in the alley with a gunshot wound in the side of his head. Police have yet to find out whether it was murder or suicide and are questioning..."_

Velma stared at the television screen, spellbound. Having lived her whole life in a town that claimed to be "the most hauntedest place on earth" and spent the majority of her teenage years battling creatures that could turn your blood to ice, Velma was certain that she could handle a simple report on a murder. Apparently she was very, very wrong. Disturbed, she quickly turned off the TV and looked over at Shaggy and Scooby who sat together on the adjoining bed and stared at the screen with equally shocked expressions. The forks they were using to eat their breakfast slipped from their hands and made a loud clatter on their plates.

The trio had opted to spend the night in a hotel in the centre of town. While the gang had grown used to spending long periods of time in the Mystery Machine from all their road trips, they would be lying if they said they didn't grow tired of it on occasion. The hotel, while modest, was very well-kept and inviting. They had managed to find a room big enough for the three of them with two queen-size beds and a TV at a very reasonable price. Shaggy and Scooby had even sampled some of the food in the restaurant and declared it was "the best culinary creation since Scooby Snacks". They'd had breakfast delivered to them that morning, but now they seemed to have lost their appetite. 

"Do ya think it might've been that Mercia Fleach who did it, Velm?" Shaggy questioned.

"It does sound likely" she replied. "Todd said that Mercia had threatened to kill him if he told us and..." she paused. "Wait, what did you say?"

"What did I say, when?"

"You said Fleach instead of F Leach."

Shaggy's eyebrows rose in recognition. "Oh yeah. Like, so I did, ha-ha. Why do you ask, Velm?"

But Velma didn't answer. She was too busy fumbling in her pockets. "Do either of you guys have a...oh, it's ok, I found one" she said, pulling a pen out of her pocket. She placed the receipt on the bedside table and turned it over so the blank side was facing up. She then scrawled the name Mercia F Leach onto the paper.

While she was doing this, Shaggy and Scooby walked over to see what she was doing and peered over her shoulder curiously. She was fervently crossing out various letters in the name and rewriting them in a different order. "It's an anagram" she told them. "You know, when a word or name is rearranged to make a new one."

"Like when spar becomes rasp?" Shaggy asked.

"Exactly" Velma said as she crossed out the last letter and gasped. "Oh. My. God."

"What's up, Vel...?" Shaggy cut his question short when he saw the new name Velma had made. His jaw dropped and his eyes widened to the size of tennis balls. The name was Marcie Fleach.

Everyone stood gaping at the receipt while precious seconds ticked by. All at once, the pieces of the puzzle fell into place. Marcie must have come up with the whole scheme to get back at Velma for replacing her with Daphne. She had used the name Mercia F Leach as her pseudonym, knowing that the gang would come looking for her if they suspected she was the culprit. And she must have been the one who told Todd not to tell them anything about the attack and, therefore, the one who had killed him. It all made sense now.

"Like, I don't believe it" Shaggy gasped.

"I know" Velma agreed. "I mean, I never thought Marcie was the vengeful type."

"No. Like, I can't believe it took us nearly a day to work out that Mercia F Leach is Marcie Fleach."


	9. Not the best idea

**Chapter 9 - Not the best idea**

"Like, we're not actually gonna do this, are we?"

Upon finding out that the mysterious Mercia F Leach, who they suspected to be Daphne's attacker, was really Marcie Fleach, something had possessed Velma to go back to the hospital to interrogate Marcie. Although the two girls had lost contact in the past few years, they had shared a close bond throughout their high school years. Velma would even go so far as to say they had become firm friends and she wasn't about to turn her friend over to the police without first confirming her suspicions. Shaggy and Scooby could understand Velma's doubt, but even they had to admit it wasn't the most tactful way to get somebody to confess to a crime.

"What are we even gonna say when we see her?" Shaggy questioned. "We're not actually gonna go up to her and, like, ask if she attacked Daphne, are we?"

Velma shook her head. "Of course not, doofus. We have to be more subtle than that."

"But, like, how do we know Marcie will tell the truth, if and when she answers? And how can you be sure it wasn't her?"

Velma tightened her hands around the steering wheel and sighed. Shaggy had a good point. The goodest of points. Although their evidence was a bit flimsy, it still labelled Marcie as a suspect. Plus, she had the motivation. But some small doubt in the back of Velma's mind told her there was more to this mystery than there appeared to be. "I'm not sure, Shaggy" she admitted. "But I intend to find out."

Soon enough, they pulled up outside the hospital. They piled out of the Mystery Machine, locked it and walked into the building. "Ran we go rand see Raphne first?" Scooby asked.

"Like, we might as well, Velm."

"Ok, let's go" Velma sighed and they headed down the corridor to Daphne's room.

They got quite a surprise when they entered the room. They had expected Daphne to be the only person in there but somebody else was with her, sitting by her bedside. "Mr Cooke?!" Velma exclaimed.

Mr Cooke looked up at the newcomers and his eyes widened in recognition. "Oh, hello" he said with his wide-toothed smile. "Say, aren't you the kids who came into my store yesterday?"

"Uh...yes, we are." Velma suddenly felt very awkward as she realised he might not have forgiven Shaggy and Scooby for their shenanigans. "Please, forgive us for what happened, Mr Cooke."

"Yeah. Like, we don't do it again" Shaggy promised.

"Don't worry about it" Mr Cooke replied. "It could have been worse. And, please, call me Evan."

The trio were relieved by Evan's acceptance and introduced themselves to him. In less than two minutes, they were all sitting around Daphne's bed, chatting like old friends.

"So, Evan, what brings you here?" Velma asked. "How do you know Daphne?"

"Well, the Blake family is one of my biggest patrons" Evan explained. "And they're such polite customers. And generous, too. They always compliment my products and refuse to take their change. We've come to know each other quite well recently and when they called to tell me what happened to Daphne, I decided to come and pay my respects."

"Like, that sure is kind of you, Sir" Shaggy remarked.

"Reah. Really rind" Scooby added.

They continued to talk a little while longer until Velma decided they had better go and seek out Marcie. "Like, you go on ahead, Velm. Scoob and I are gonna get something from the cafeteria. I'm starved."

"Good idea. And I think I'll go and get some fresh air" Evan said, getting up from his seat. "It was nice meeting you, Velma" he added as they left the room.

After asking several doctors, and with the aid of a map of the hospital, Velma eventually found Marcie in one of the labs with a handful of other doctors. Velma took a deep breath. It was time. "Marcie?" she said, approaching her.

The young doctor looked surprised to see Velma, and a little anxious. "V? What are you doing? You're not supposed to be in here."

"I know but I need to talk to you."

"Can't it wait? I'm kind of busy here" Marcie said, gesturing behind her. "Look, if you're willing to wait, I go on my break in a few minutes. We can talk then."

It was the longest few minutes of Velma's life but finally, as promised, Marcie finally emerged from the lab. Velma led her outside and around to the back of the hospital, safely out of sight. "Ok, what's so important?" Marcie asked.

"Did you buy any clothes from Cooke's recently?"

Marcie rolled her eyes. "Pfft! With my lousy pay check? You must be joking! Besides, I'm not exactly welcome there, after I found out a few...let's say unpleasant things about the store and it's owners. Why do you ask, V?"

"Well, yesterday, while searching for clues on Daphne's attacker, I found a hat from Cooke's and went to the store, hoping to get some more information." As she said this, Velma pulled the receipt out of her pocket. "Apparently, the person who bought it was somebody called Mercia F Leach. From this, I deduced that this Mercia F Leach was the attacker."

"Why are you telling me this?" Marcie inquired. "I don't know anybody with that name."

Wordlessly, Velma turned the receipt over to reveal the side she had written on and handed it to Marcie, who raised a suspicious eyebrow when she saw her name scribbled on the paper. "Where are you going with this, V?" She looked from the receipt to Velma, then from Velma to the receipt. At once, she understood what Velma was implying. "Y...you don't seriously think it was me, do you?"

"I didn't want to jump to conclusions," Velma said, "so I thought I'd better ask you first, just to be sure."

"Velma, you have to believe me when I say I did not attack Daphne" Marcie insisted. "Why would you even think such a thing?"

"Well..." Velma hesitated. "You were...kinda...motivated."

Marcie frowned. "If you think I did this to get back at you guys for replacing me with Daphne, you're mistaken. Yes, I was a little hurt but I know I can never take her place in your gang. I've come to terms with that."

"But then, if it wasn't you, who was it?" Velma said this as if she expected Marcie to have the answer.

"You're the smart one, V. You find out yourself." She pressed the receipt into Velma's hand, then stalked off.

"Marcie, wait" Velma called after her, but she didn't seem to hear. "Marcie, please, don't be like that. I'm sorry!" But Marcie didn't even look back.


	10. Quite possibly the biggest epiphany

**Chapter 10 - Quite possibly the biggest epiphany**

 **In this chapter, we finally find out who it was that attacked Daphne. Have you guessed who it is yet?**

* * *

It felt as if an hour had passed before Velma decided to come out of the cold and back into the hospital when, in reality, it was probably only two or three minutes at most. She would be lying if she said she hadn't been a little surprised by Marcie's reaction; if Velma had been accused of committing some awful crime, she would overact like crazy. But Marcie's response was, if nothing else, little more than a cold rejection. Velma guessed she should be glad that Marcie had made less of a scene than expected, but she couldn't even force herself to feel that way. The small, quiet voice in the back of Velma's head that constantly told her that Marcie was telling the truth was now more insistent than ever and Velma, who had always valued logic and rational thinking over intuition, was actually starting to believe it.

Velma was so lost in thought as she wandered aimlessly through the halls that she didn't notice two people, a man and a woman, walking straight towards her and bumped right into them. "Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" she apologised.

"Velma? Oh, thank goodness!" the woman cried.

For a second, Velma was alarmed that these complete strangers knew her name. When she saw their faces, however, she realised they weren't really that strange. The people she had bumped into were Daphne's parents. They were dressed in their finest winter wear and looked anxious.

"Oh, hi Mr and Mrs Blake" Velma greeted. "Have you come to see Daphne?"

Mrs Blake gasped and gripped her husband's arm. "So it's true! Our daughter really is here! Oh, Velma, tell us quick. How bad are her injuries? Will she wake up?"

Mr Blake calmed his wife, then gave Velma an apologetic look. "Please, excuse us Velma. We're just really concerned for our daughter. Have you heard anything from the doctors yet?"

"It's ok, I understand. And you don't have to worry; although she was badly hurt, we've been told there's no permanent harm done. She'll just be unconscious for a short while, is all."

The Blakes heaved a sigh of relief. "Well, that's lucky" Mr Blake remarked. "We were just on our way to her room if you'd care to join us."

Velma accompanied the Blakes to Daphne's room and sat with them by Daphne's bedside, offering her condolences while Mrs Blake whispered soothing words to her daughter through her tears. This continued for some time before Mr Blake suddenly commented "I'm surprised Fred isn't here."

Velma shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "Uh, yes. Well...um...the thing is...he's been...arrested."

Mrs Blake's head shot up. "Arrested? Why?"

"The police seem to think he was the one who attacked Daphne."

"But that's ridiculous!" Mr Blake exclaimed. "I know I didn't really approve of Fred when I first found out he was with Daphne but even I couldn't believe he would ever do something that terrible."

"That's what we've been trying to tell the police" Velma told him. "But they won't listen. So now it's up to me, Shaggy and Scooby to find the real culprit."

"Well, whoever it is, they'd better hope I don't find them first" Mr Blake's tone was low and dangerous and Velma could only imagine what he planned on doing to his daughter's attacker.

"How did you guys know Daphne was here anyway?" Velma asked, suddenly realising, with a pang of guilt, that she hadn't thought to call them when Daphne went into hospital.

"This morning we received a message from an anonymous caller" Mr Blake said. "They sent us a picture of Daphne lying in her bed with all these scars on her face. The caller said they were the one who had done this to Daphne and that they would do even worse to her unless we retracted all that had been said about Cooke's clothing store and made a donation of $60 million."

Velma raised an eyebrow. "What does Cooke's clothing store have to do with this?"

"Well, until a few months ago, we were one of the biggest patrons of Cooke's. Then somebody, I believe her name was Marcie Fleach, informed us that the company was hiding a few unpleasant secrets. It turned out that the clothes they claimed to be made of real animal products were actually counterfeit. We weren't too bothered by this. We could have almost lived with it, if it hadn't caused Daphne to have several violent allergic reactions. She's allergic to fake clothing materials, you see. But we also learnt that Mr Cooke was exploiting his staff, paying them below minimum wage, forcing them to work long hours with no breaks and even firing workers just for taking the day off because they were ill. Long story short, we threatened to expose Mr Cooke if it continued and have since stop sponsoring his company."

The young detective listened to this story, dumbfounded. Several realisations dawned on her and she had a sudden need to speak to Shaggy and Scooby. "That's very...interesting. Would you excuse me for a few minutes? There's...uh...something I forgot to do."

The Blakes happily excused her and, once Velma was back out in the hall, she sprinted in the direction of the cafeteria. The same thought kept circling around in her head. The attack on Daphne wasn't Marcie's way of exacting revenge on the Mystery Inc. gang because it wasn't Marcie who committed the crime. It was Evan Cooke. She had to tell Shaggy and Scooby right away.

Surprised, Velma gave a startled yelp as she turned a corner and bumped into somebody for the second time that day. Unfortunately, she couldn't see who it was because she then fell to the ground and her glasses slid from her face and onto the floor. "My glasses!" she cried, fumbling around for them. "I can't see a thing without my glasses!"

"Here they are" a voice said and, through narrowed eyes, Velma could just make out a hand holding her glasses.

"Gee, thanks" Velma said as she took her glasses and put them back on.

"No problem. Let me help you up." A hand then gently grabbed Velma's arm and pulled her to her feet. Velma was about to thank the person again when she saw their face and gasped. It was none other than Evan Cooke. "Why Velma, what's the matter? You look like you've seen a ghost."

Velma narrowed her eyes and roughly shoved him away, earning her a confused look. For reasons even she couldn't explain, she said to him "I know what you did to Daphne."

At first, Evan seemed confused. Then, with horror, he realised what the girl meant. Before Velma had time to react, the man flew at her and the last thing she remembered before everything went dark was a searing pain in the back of her head.


	11. The truth finally comes out

**Chapter 11 - The truth finally comes out**

Velma woke from a deep sleep two hours later. Several things came to mind when she opened her eyes. The first was that she had a sharp pain in the back of her head. The second thing was that she was tied to a chair in the middle of this dim, airy, unfamiliar room in a building she had never seen before. The third thing was that she had no idea how she had gotten here. She tried to move but her bonds were too tight. "Hello?" she called out, knowing she probably wouldn't receive an answer.

"Ah, I see you're finally awake." Velma nearly jumped out of her skin as a deep voice echoed in the large room. Her jaw dropped when she saw Evan Cooke emerge from the shadows and at once everything came back to her.

Velma glared at Evan. "Where are we? Why have you brought me here? Let me go!"

Evan laughed. "Oh, I don't think so, Miss Dinkley. I can't have you blabbing to the authorities. I'm in enough trouble as it is."

"Why have you brought me here, Evan?" Velma demanded. "What are you going to do with me?"

"All in good time, my dear Velma. All in good time. Before we get to that, however, there's a few things I think you ought to hear first. I'm aware that you know what I've done to Daphne. Whether or not you know why is another matter."

Velma knew perfectly well why he did what he did but she knew Evan was probably going to tell her anyway, so she kept quiet.

"Well, until a few months ago, my company was flourishing. Business was booming, profits were up, sales were going through the roof. We had never done so well. I should've known it was too good to be true. You see, there was a severe decline in animal materials. The clothes made from them are my biggest sellers, so when they became less plentiful, I started losing customers. A friend of mine advised me to sell fake animal furs as an alternative and this seemed to work, for a while. A few weeks later, that Marcie Fleach did some poking around at my store and found out the products were fake. She also found out how I had been treating my staff and informed the Blakes, who threatened to expose my 'crimes' and stopped sponsoring my company."

"So that's why you attacked Daphne" said Velma.

"Exactly" Cooke replied. "Of course, I couldn't make it obvious that it was me, and I wanted to get revenge on Fleach as well as the Blakes. I had learnt from Daphne that you loved mysteries, so I set up this whole scheme in the hopes that you would name Fleach as the criminal. I went to my store one day, in disguise, and purchased the hat, the trench coat, the gloves and the sunglasses and signed the receipt under the name Mercia F Leach, hoping you would realise it was an anagram of Marcie Fleach."

"You're Mercia F Leach?!" Velma exclaimed. "Then...you must be the one who threatened Todd!"

Evan regarded her with a look of mock surprise. "How do you do it, Mr Holmes? You're right, I did threaten Todd. And I was the one who killed him. I'd seen him coming out of the malt shop that night after I attacked Daphne. I knew he might blab to you, so I said that if he did, he would die. Of course, the idiot went and did it anyway, so I had to get rid of him. Of course, I had to get Fred out of the way, so I told a little white lie and told the police that he was the attacker."

Velma was shocked by how calmly he was confessing to the crime. At the same time, a new thought struck her. "You didn't go to the hospital just to see Daphne, did you? You were the one who called the Blakes and demanded they pay $60 million to your store."

Evan shrugged. "After what they did, that's less than half of what they deserve."

"You won't get away with this!" Velma declared, struggling violently against her bonds. "I'll make sure of that! Once I get free, the police will hear about this and..."

The man chuckled, shaking his head. "Oh, my dear Velma, you don't seriously think I would tell you all this if I planned on letting you go, did you?" With a flourish, Evan retrieved a gun from a hidden pocket and pointed it at Velma, grinning evilly.

Velma's blood turned to ice. "No, please, don't shoot! I-I'm sorry. Look, I won't breathe a word of this, I swear!"

"Too right you won't" Evan muttered as he moved his finger towards the trigger.

Suddenly, a loud clang echoed from the hallway outside the room. "Shaggy!" a voice hissed. "Be careful! We can't let him hear us."

"Like, that ship may have sailed, Marcie" another voice responded, followed by a dull thud. "Ow! Uh, I mean, sorry Marcie."

Velma's heart leapt. Marcie and Shaggy were here? When had they arrived? She hoped against all hope that it had been in time to catch Evan's confession. Evan's eyes narrowed. "Fleach" he muttered. He glared at Velma. "I'll deal with you later" he said before leaving the room. A few seconds later, to Velma's amazement, Marcie, Shaggy and Scooby came hurtling through the door.

"Relma!" Scooby said, licking her face lovingly while Shaggy untied her.

"Are you ok, V?" Marcie asked, genuinely concerned. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"I don't think so" Velma replied. "Oh, I'm so happy to see you guys! How did you find me?"

"I saw Evan leaving the hospital carrying you and thought it looked suspicious. So I told Shaggy and Scooby and we followed you in the Mystery Machine to this old warehouse" Marcie explained.

Velma smiled at Marcie and instantly felt a pang of guilt for having thought for one second that she could have been the culprit. "I'm so sorry for thinking you were the one who attacked Daphne" she apologised.

"All in the past" Marcie smiled back just as the last of Velma's bonds were untied.

"Now, like, let's get the heck outta here and to the police station!" Shaggy said, starting towards the door.

"Wait!" Velma cried, grabbing his and Scooby's collar. "We can't let him get away. I've got an idea and, with the help of you guys, we might just be able to pull it off. We're going to need a large net, a bucket and some rope."

Marcie gave a suspicious frown. "What exactly are we going to do?"

Velma grinned. "We're going to set a trap."

Shaggy and Scooby turned pale. They didn't like where this was going.


	12. Caught in a net (literally)

**Chapter 12 - Caught in a net (literally)**

The sound of Evan's heavy footsteps on the stone floor echoed throughout the building. Gun at the ready in his right hand, he shoved open door after door with his left, hell-bent on finding Marcie. "Where are you, Fleach?" he snarled as he patrolled the hallway. Once he found that girl, there would be no mercy. Evan would see to that. The girl had to pay for what she had done.

A whistle sounded from the other end of the hallway, directly behind him. Evan pivoted on the ball of his foot and there, standing several feet away, was none other than Marcie Fleach. She waved at him, smiling innocently. "Looking for someone, Evan?" Without warning, Evan pointed the gun at her and fired. Fortunately for Marcie, she ducked just in time. "Catch me if you can!" Marcie shouted teasingly before darting out of sight.

Growling in frustration, Evan immediately set off after her. He skidded to a halt at the end of the hall and turned to the left to once again see Marcie, now standing in the doorway of a nearby room. She smirked mischievously and scampered inside. Evan scampered after her. The room he ran into was filled with piles of old rubbish but, surprisingly, Marcie was nowhere in sight. _BANG!_ The door slammed shut behind him. Before he could turn around, somebody grabbed him from behind and wrestled him to the ground. Then somebody else threw a net over him and covered his head with an old rusty a bucket and bound his hands and feet. He struggled and fought against them but they were too strong and forced him to lie still. Then he heard the door open and slam shut again and the soft click of a key turning in the lock. Outside the room, Velma, Marcie, Shaggy and Scooby Doo all exchanged high-fives.

"Great work, guys!" Velma complimented. "I'm sorry for putting you in danger, Marcie."

"No problem, V. I know that, out of us four, it was me Evan wanted most. So it was logical that I be the bait."

"Like, I'm just glad it was somebody else for a change" Shaggy said.

"Reah, re too" said Scooby.

"By the way, did you guys manage to overhear Evan's confession?" Velma asked.

"Better" Marcie answered, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "I recorded him! Now, let's get the police down here ASAP."

The police couldn't arrive at the warehouse quick enough. While the other officers handcuffed Evan and bundled him into a police car, Shaggy, Velma, Marcie and Scooby explained what had happened to Sheriff Bronson Stone, giving him a brief but detailed summary of the crime and showing him the recording of Evan's confession. With all the evidence against him, the sheriff had no choice but to convict Evan, then they all drove back to Crystal Cove. Upon returning to the town, the group wasted no time getting to the police station and took (perhaps) just a little too much pleasure in watching Evan get dragged off to the cells. A short while later, Fred was released and, on the insistence of the gang, given a formal apology by the sheriff.

The gang couldn't have been happier to see Fred. Scooby smothered him with slobbery, affectionate licks while Shaggy and the girls embraced him tightly. By the time they saw fit to release him, Fred was quite red in the face.

"Well, that was a nice greeting" Fred commented as he wiped his face dry. "So, what did I miss?"

As they left the station, the group all delivered him snippets of their adventures over the last few days, each from their own perspective. Fred was beyond shocked when they told him about Todd's murder and his eyes very nearly popped out of his head when they told him Evan was the one responsible for the whole crime. "So...this was his revenge?!" His blood boiled at the very thought. The fact that anybody would even dream of hurting his Daphne for the sake of petty revenge angered him more than anything else in the world. "If prison doesn't kill that sick, twisted psychopath, I will" Fred promised.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that, Fred. After what Evan did, he'd be lucky to see daylight again" Marcie told him.

They all piled into the Mystery Machine with Fred back behind the wheel, where he belonged. They were about to set off for the hospital when Marcie's phone buzzed with a number that they assumed belonged to one of her work colleagues. "Hello?" Marcie said, putting the phone to her ear. "Yeah, what's up?...What about Daphne? What's happened?...What?! Are you serious? Is she really?...Oh my gosh, that's great news! I'll tell them right away!"

She hung up her phone and turned to the gang with a huge grin spread across her face. They all stared at her inquiringly, wondering what she was so happy about. As if she had read their thoughts, Marcie told them "It's Daphne. She's awake!"


	13. A very merry Christmas

**Chapter 13 - A very merry Christmas**

 **In this last chapter, we finally find out what Fred's surprise for Daphne was (if you don't know what I'm talking about, go back and re-read chapter one and, for goodness' sake, pay attention next time).**

 **Two weeks later...**

The next two weeks saw much happen for the Mystery Inc. gang.

On the day Daphne woke up from her coma, there was such an uproar that anyone would think the hospital was under siege. Everyone kissed and hugged her tightly and Velma, who wasn't usually known for being emotional, was so overwhelmed with joy that she burst into tears. Less than a week later, Daphne was deemed well enough to go home. Instead of going there, however, the gang went straight to the malt shop for a celebratory lunch. The gang couldn't have been happier to have Daphne at home with them again and, the moment they settled back into their apartment, the questions began.

Despite having only spent a few days in hospital, she had a lot to catch up on. She wanted to hear every detail of the mystery and the gang obliged happily and they didn't refuse when Daphne asked them to repeat the story once, or twice, or thrice. "You guys sure did have an adventure" she remarked after every time. "I'm glad Evan Cooke finally got what he deserved. To think he went to such extremes just to get revenge on Marcie and my parents!"

Christmas day was merrier than any other day the gang had experienced. The whole of Crystal Cove was giddy with excitement when December 25th rolled around and in every home you could hear nothing but the tearing of wrapping paper, the clink of cutlery on plates, laughter and chatter. In recompense for all that they had done, the Blakes invited the gang and Marcie over for the day and much fun was had. The Blakes really outdid themselves with making their house look extra festive and provided them a dinner fit for a king. After the gifts were exchanged and the dinner was eaten, everyone was much too full and tired to do much else, so they all gathered in the huge family room and spent the best part of an hour just mindlessly talking.

Fred and Daphne had secured one of the couches to themselves and were sitting wrapped in each other's arms. Daphne leaned into Fred's embrace and sighed contentedly. "This has been the best Christmas ever."

"It sure has" Fred agreed. He suddenly remembered something and smiled down at the love of his life. "Say, Daph, remember that night at the malt shop, when I told you I'd prepared a surprise for the day?"

"Oh yeah, that's right!" Daphne recalled. "You never did tell me what is was."

"Well, you're about to find out" Fred replied, winking at her. He stood up, motioning for Daphne to do likewise, and led her to the front of the room. "Hey, everyone. Could I have your attention please? I have something important to say."

The chatter quickly died down as everyone turned their attention to Fred and Daphne.

Fred cleared his throat and began. "Well, this has been an interesting month, what with all that's happened. And I can't think of a better way to end it than with us all here together, just as we're meant to be." Murmurs of agreement followed before Fred spoke again. "While I was in jail, I had time to think about Daphne and me and I came to realise just how lucky I am to have a girl as wonderful as her in my life. Which is why I would like to ask..."

Pausing briefly, Fred turned to face Daphne and got down on one knee. With a flourish, he pulled a small box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a beautiful silver ring adorned with a purple amethyst stone. Everyone gasped and Daphne covered her hand with her mouth in shock as Fred spoke the five simple words: "Daphne, will you marry me?"

He had barely gotten the words out when Daphne dropped her hand and cried "Yes, yes, yes!"

The whole room erupted into cheers as Fred rose to his feet and slipped the ring onto Daphne's finger before pulling her into a passionate kiss. Out of all the Christmases the gang had celebrated, this beat every single one of them.

 **The end**


End file.
